Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Sometimes I find web applications that are really cool, but I can't think of a specific in-classroom use for them. PicLens is one of these applications. I've held off on sharing it because I can't think of a specific in-classroom use for it, but now that Tekzilla has produced a video about PicLens, I'll share it with you. In short, PicLens is one really cool application that everyone should try out if for no other reason than it will "wow" your students and make them think you're the cool technology teacher. PicLens is a browser extension that allows users to search and display images in a 3D panorama. PicLens is available for Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer.

For every desktop application there is a cloud computing option to accomplish the same task. Google and Zoho seem to be leading the way in web-based office productivity tools (yesterday on the Fox Business Report Zoho confirmed that they are grossing more than $1 million monthly). While Google and Zoho are good for one-stop shopping productivity tools sometimes you might want to try other options. Office 2.0 Database maintains a comprehensive index of cloud computing tools. If you're looking for a free cloud computing alternative to a desktop application, check out the Office 2.0 Database, you're sure to find a resource you'll like.

Applications for EducationWeb based productivity products have the potential to save school districts significant amounts of money. Most web-based productivity products like Google and Zoho are completely free for the end user. Another great feature of cloud computing is that almost every good service works on all browsers. And all cloud computing products work on any operating system.

After two days of limited blogging, I'm back up to speed. My MacBook hard drive crashed on Sunday night so I've spent the last couple of days trying to recover and restore.

Video Fetcher is a new video search engine. Video Fetcher searches over one hundred video hosting websites for material related to your search terms. Video Fetcher shows results from Youtube and a list of results from other sites containing relevant videos. The screen capture below shows the results of search for "Tiananmen Square."

Applications for EducationVideo Fetcher searches over 100 video websites for material relevant to your search terms. Many schools block Youtube which leaves students and teachers wondering where to search next for relevant videos. Video Fetcher is a useful resource for finding educational videos that are accessible at school.